Speeches

Your Excellency – Ambassador Mervat Tallawy, President of the National Council for Women,
My colleague Ziad Shiekh, UN Women Egypt Country Director and interim,
UN Colleagues, Development Partners, distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am delighted to welcome you on behalf of the UN family in Egypt to this important event celebrating International Women’s Day.

This year’s International Women’s Day theme – Equality for Women is Progress for All – states a simple truth. No country will reach its full potential if its female citizens do not enjoy full equality. As the 2015 end date of the Millennium Development Goals nears, and as discussion on the next global development agenda intensifies, there is strong momentum for achieving development with equity, including by eradicating gender inequality and empowering women and girls.

We live in a world of plenty, where food production outstrips demand, yet 870 million people are undernourished and childhood stunting is a silent pandemic. To create the future we want, we must correct this inequity. We must ensure access to adequate nutrition for all, double the productivity of smallholder farmers who grow the bulk of food in the developing world, and make food systems sustainable in the face of environmental and economic shocks. This is the vision of my Zero Hunger Challenge, launched last year at the Rio+20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development.

Freedom of expression is a fundamental human right, enshrined in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It is a cornerstone of good governance, sustainable development, and lasting peace and security.

Water holds the key to sustainable development. We need it for health, food security and economic progress. Yet, each year brings new pressures. One in three people already lives in a country with moderate to high water stress, and by 2030 nearly half the global population could be facing water scarcity, with demand outstripping supply by 40 per cent.

On behalf of the UN System in Egypt, it gives me great pleasure to welcome you all in the workshop on sharing experiences on climate change impacts in the Nile Basin. In particular, I would like to welcome distinguished guests from Nile Basin Countries whose participation in the workshop demonstrates a long standing interest and commitment in cooperation among water experts and officials in the basin.

As we mark World Day of Social Justice, we see far too many places where there are increasing opportunities for a few and only rising inequality for the many. Growing inequality undermines the international community’s progress in lifting millions out of poverty and building a more just world.

We are living through a period of profound turmoil, transition and transformation. Insecurity, inequality and intolerance are spreading. Global and national institutions are being put to the test. With so much at stake, the United Nations must keep pace across the spectrum of its activities – peace, development, human rights, the rule of law, the empowerment of the world’s women and youth.

This year’s observance of the International Day for Disaster Reduction seeks to highlight the need for women and girls to be at the forefront of reducing risk and managing the world’s response to natural hazards.

Today we look back on yet another year of remarkable events in the story of democracy -- a story that continues to be written by people who yearn for dignity and human rights, for an end to corruption, for a say in their future, for jobs, justice and a fair share of political power.

The United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation offers an opportunity to celebrate the many achievements of the South and to encourage continued support and engagement by the entire development community with South-South cooperation.

Today’s generation of youth -- the largest the world has ever known, and the vast majority of whom live in developing countries -- has unprecedented potential to advance the well-being of the entire human family. Yet too many young people, including those who are highly educated, suffer from low-wage, dead-end work and record levels of unemployment.

As the world gears up for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), World Environment Day is an opportunity to highlight the need for a paradigm shift towards a more sustainable world. This year’s theme, “Green Economy: Does it include you?”, underscores the need for everyone to play their part in keeping humankind's ecological footprint within planetary boundaries.

The annual observance of International Mother Earth Day honours our one and only planet and the place of human beings in it. It is also meant as a call to action against human disregard for nature’s life-supporting resources and ecosystems.

It is a real pleasure for me to close this Sub-Regional Forum on Principles for Independent and Sustainable Electoral Management, jointly organized by UNDP and IFES. It is great to see the excellent cooperation between UNDP and IFES for the organization of this meeting.

United Nations mine action programmes make an invaluable contribution to post-conflict recovery, humanitarian relief efforts, peace operations and development initiatives. They prevent landmines and other explosive ordnance from causing further indiscriminate harm long after conflicts have ended, and help to transform danger zones into productive land. Mine action sets communities on course toward lasting stability.